Abstract

This chapter focuses on the challenges and opportunities related to the provision of land and infrastructure for affordable housing. It drills down on three key challenges impeding the supply of affordable housing in Africa: poor land governance and weak management systems; the multiplicity of conflicting land tenure regimes; and the rapid growth of low-density, informal residential developments, leading to urban sprawl in peri-urban areas. The chapter also argues that the provision of basic infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, not only shapes cities, but is also an important determinant of housing affordability, particularly for low-income families.

Highlights

  • Land, along with the provision of bulk infrastructure, is central to any discussion on housing development in Africa

  • Some revenue tools that could be used to pay for infrastructure services include developer levies, land value capture allowing for user fees, taxes and public-private partnership (PPPs)

  • We suggest that three principal challenges currently confront the formal housing sector in Africa: poor land governance, weak property rights and tenure security owing to the multiplicity of land tenure regimes, and the growing low-density urban expansion, which raise the cost of service provision

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Summary

Introduction

Along with the provision of bulk infrastructure, is central to any discussion on housing development in Africa. In most African cities, the high cost of urban housing is often due to several issues including inadequate land governance policies that encourage speculative acquisitions, poor urban planning that generates urban sprawl, and the lack of critical infrastructure that has significantly increased the cost of serviced land. Long-standing cultural preferences for freestanding homes and the lack of formal high-­ density housing developments have accelerated urban sprawl patterns and the growth of informal settlements across many countries. This chapter attempts to describe Africa’s dysfunctional land markets for housing It is organized around four important land market phenomena that have major implications on formal sector provision of land and infrastructure for affordable housing in Africa: (1) poor land governance and administration systems; (2) implications of unclear land tenure rights and regime; (3) urban sprawl; and (4) how to increase land supply and the provision of basic infrastructure services

Land Governance and Administration in Africa
Multiple Tenure Regimes and Unclear Land Rights
Poor Land Administration and Management Systems
Inefficient Regulations and Poor Land Use Policies
Onerous and Complex Land Titling Processes
Land Administration and Management: A Laissez-Faire Approach of the State
Implications of Unclear Land Tenure Regimes and Rights
The Land Formalization Debate
Land Delivery Systems
Low-Density Urban Expansion and a Massive Infrastructure Deficit
Financing Land and Infrastructure
Moving from the Dominance of Public Finance to Mobilization of Private Capital
Tapping into the Contractual Savings Industry
Land Value Capture
Financing Urban and Housing Infrastructure
Increasing Land Supply and Infrastructure
Build Efficient and Equitable Land Administrations
Introduce Flexible Land Tenure Regimes to Accelerate Land Delivery
Promote Community Participation in Land Formalization Processes
Strengthen Institutional Capacity to Deliver on Land Reforms
Revive Sites-and-Services Programs
Leverage Land Readjustment Programs for Urban Redevelopment
Control Illegal Land Invasions and Speculation
Create Land by Upgrading Slums
Better Coordinate Transportation and Housing Programs
4.5.10 Integrate Infrastructure Planning in Urban Development Policies
Findings
Conclusion
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